Tags Samsung’s foldable phone line may be expanding soon. CNET Samsung’s family of foldable smartphones may be tripling soon.The South Korean electronics giant is developing a pair of new foldable handsets following its unveiling of its Galaxy Fold, people familiar with the company’s plans told Bloomberg. One of the devices would fold away from the user like the Huawei Mate X instead of inward, as the Galaxy Fold does.A phone that folds vertically is expected to be unveiled later this year or early next year, Bloomberg reported. An in-display fingerprint sensor may also be incorporated into the foldable lineup.When Samsung introduced its Galaxy Fold at Unpacked on February, it stole most of the spotlight from the other four phones the company announced there as well, including a 5G phone. Though many are intrigued by the Galaxy Fold, its consumer appeal may be limited its uncommon design, limited availability and price.At $1,980, the Fold costs twice the starting price of the Galaxy Note 9 or iPhone XS. The Mate X, which was also unveiled last month, tantalized audience members until its $2,600 price tag was announced, and then oohs and ahhs turned to gasps.Samsung didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 0 Post a comment Share your voice Foldable Phones Tablets Phones Samsungread more

Map of MoroccoMorocco has banned the production and sale of burqa full-face Muslim veils, apparently for security reasons, media reports said Tuesday.While there was no official announcement by authorities in the North African nation, the reports said the interior ministry order would take effect this week.“We have taken the step of completely banning the import, manufacture and marketing of this garment in all the cities and towns of the kingdom,” the Le360 news site quoted a high-ranking interior ministry official as saying.It said the measure appeared to be motivated by security concerns, “since bandits have repeatedly used this garment to perpetrate their crimes.”Most women in Morocco, whose King Mohammed VI favours a moderate version of Islam, prefer the hijab headscarf that does not cover the face.The niqab, which leaves the area around the eyes uncovered, is also worn in Salafist circles and in more conservative regions in the north, from where thousands of jihadists have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq.In some commercial districts of Casablanca, the country’s economic capital, interior ministry officials on Monday conducted “awareness-raising campaigns with traders to inform them of this new decision,” the Media 24 website said.In Taroudant in southern Morocco, authorities ordered traders to stop making and selling burqas and to liquidate their stock within 48 hours, the reports said.Retailers in the northern town of Ouislane were said to have received similar instructions.It was unclear if Morocco plans to follow in the footsteps of some European countries such as France and Belgium where it is illegal to wear full veils in public.The reports were met with a muted response in the absence of official confirmation, though Salafists expressed concern that the measure could be expanded to include the niqab.“Is Morocco moving towards banning the niqab that Muslim women have worn for five centuries?” Salafist sheikh Hassan Kettani wrote on Facebook.“If true it would be a disaster,” he added.read more

Video grab of New Zealand`s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaking on live television following fatal shootings at two mosques in central Christchurch. Photo: ReutersA solemn New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday the deadly mosque shootings in Christchurch had plunged the country into one of its “darkest days”.”Clearly, what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” Ardern said in an address to a shocked nation.A gunman opened fire inside the Masjid al Noor mosque during afternoon prayers, causing multiple fatalities.”Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here,” Ardern said.”They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not.””They should have been in a safe environment,” she said.One person is in custody, but police said it was not yet clear if there were other people involved.”There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented violence,” Ardern added.”For now, my thoughts, and I’m sure the thoughts of all New Zealanders, are with those who have been affected, and also with their families.”Her comments were echoed by the leader of the opposition Simon Bridges.”We stand with and support the New Zealand Islamic community,” he said.”No one in this country should live in fear, no matter their race or religion, their politics or their beliefs.”Australian prime minister Scott Morrison was among the foreign leaders who expressed their concern.”I’m horrified by the reports I’m following of the serious shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand,” he said.”The situation is still unfolding but our thoughts and prayers are with our Kiwi cousins.”

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has shifted 14 Pakistani prisoners, lodged in two correctional homes here, to separate barracks and “high-security” cells, amid soaring tension between India and its western neighbour, a senior official said. The state government’s move comes days after a 50-year-old Pakistani convict was allegedly killed by fellow inmates in Rajasthan’s Jaipur Central jail. “Strict instructions have been issued to separate Pakistani inmates from others following the incident in Rajasthan jail. They have been shifted to high-security cells, where heavyweight prisoners, such as those arrested for American Center attack and Maoists have been staying,” the official of West Bengal Correctional Services said. Also Read – Bose & Gandhi: More similar than apart, says Sugata Bose A three-layered cordon has been set up for the security of the 14 prisoners, he said. “Most of these prisoners share a good rapport with their fellow inmates, but we cannot take risk in the wake of the Pulwama attack,” the official told PTI on Wednesday. Of the 14 inmates, four are lodged at Presidency Correctional Home in the city and the other 10 at Dum Dum Central Correctional Home, he said. “Some were jailed for flouting visa norms, while a few were waiting to be taken to other correctional homes. There are also others who were imprisoned for their involvement in criminal activities,” the state government official said. Along with the chief head warden, the head warders are keeping an eye on the cells, he said. “The Pakistani inmates will not be allowed to move out of the sensitive zones for now. Our officers are keeping a close watch on these cells round the clock,” he added.read more

If you have developed a spare tyre, it is time you saw a doctor to assess your cardiovascular health as researchers have found that belly fat, even in people who are not otherwise overweight, is bad for the heart. “People with a normal weight but a fat belly have more chance of heart problems than people without a fat belly, even if they are obese according to BMI (body mass index),” said study author Jose Medina-Inojosa from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, US. Also Read – Add new books to your shelf”This body shape indicates a sedentary lifestyle, low muscle mass, and eating too many refined carbohydrates,” Medina-Inojosa said. BMI, which is weight relative to height in kg/metre square, is used to categorise adults as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. However, BMI does not account for the amount and distribution of fat and muscle.Central obesity is a store of excess fat around the middle of the body and is a marker of abnormal fat distribution. Also Read – Over 2 hours screen time daily will make your kids impulsiveThis study tested the hypothesis that people with normal weight and central obesity would have more heart problems than people with normal weight and normal fat distribution.From 1997 to 2000, the study enrolled nearly 1,700 people aged 45 years or older in the US. Participants underwent a clinical examination and measurements were taken of weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference. Patients were followed-up from 2000 to 2016 for the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events such as as heart attack, stroke, and death from cardiovascular causes. Participants with a normal BMI (18.5-24.9 kg/metre square) and central obesity had an approximately two-fold higher long-term risk of heart problems compared to participants without central obesity, regardless of their BMI, the study said.”If you have fat around your belly and it’s greater than the size of your hips, visit your doctor to assess your cardiovascular health and fat distribution. If you have central obesity the target will be waist loss rather than weight loss,” Medina-Inojosa said.read more

Opening at the Visual Arts Gallery on August 14 is Georgina Maddox curated stubbing show of powerful figuratives on canvas, as well as sculptures in a quixotically titled show ‘Destiny, Sold Out’.”Fate and Destiny are perceived as twin sisters, that guide humankind through the perils of life. Destiny may be read as both redemption and nemesis of human existence,” says critic and curator Maddox. “According to Modern philosophers, destiny ultimately revolves around death, rather than the events of one’s life while fate has been connected to the concept of life. This has however been challenged. Destiny and Fate have been relevant in every civilization whether Hellenic or Vedic, since the dawn of time.” Also Read – Add new books to your shelfThis exhibition features probing paintings by Shiffali Wadhawan and surreal sculptures by Tapasya Gupta. It explores the notion of destiny and the various myths, traditions, allegories, and perceptions created around it.”Destiny has been formally defined as the power or agency that predetermines and orders the course of events,” opines Maddox one of the finest critics in the country. ” Shiffali and Tapasya examine in detail and depth the human condition and its relation to the idea of destiny. Often in situations of complete despair when there is no answer in sight we humans are faced with the big question ‘why is this happening to me?'” Also Read – Over 2 hours screen time daily will make your kids impulsiveWith the figurative perfectionist Shiffali Wadhawan, the objects and figures work as references that invests these works with a strong biographical and emotionally resonant note. Wadhawan works on realist principles but it is her approach and subject sensitivity that brings in a surrealism that is both symbolic as well as sensitive to her output rooted in a consistent set of emotional themes. Indeed, the eternal thread may be read as the realm of the unconscious, timeless and eternal, from which the multifarious and at times contradictory forms of her art emerge. The finesse and felicity of forms and scale of these works reflect the artist’s research into correspondences between the shapes of human figurines and the contours of bird in the realism of a scenic spectacle. The flamingoes appear formally factual, but within their perfection of form and figure, we can glimpse spirits of different ages and statuses and will evoke mediums or visionaries engaged in a conversation that is part convocation and part choral lament. With allusions to the reality of life-destiny and dictates and spiritual travel, Wadhawan offers a conversation for these imagined voices and premonitions and underscores the brevity of human existence relative to cosmic and geologic time in which nature plays a vital part.Tapasya Gupta creates hybrid sculptures that dwell both on symbolism as well as the blended realities of today. She expands her ongoing explorations into the histories of specific mediums bronze, metal wood as well as fiberglass to give us stories within stories. In these quaint hybrids like creations, we glimpse artistic forms and dualities as well as cultural symbolism.In her sculptures, Tapasya traces the history of the contours in composition across centuries and diverse geographies – following its transitions and shifting associations, from the sacred to the political to the emotional. Her sculptures invade the space in moments when the storyline ascends and descends and then recedes, channeling a discomfort within sterile environments and the invisible alien aftermaths that engulf us and transform our very inner recesses.The show runs till August 18 at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre.read more